The course, closed since March 11, is slated to reopen in April 2014. Porter's Grill, the restaurant at the course, is to reopen in January or February. When each reopens, employees are expected to regain their previous positions.

In the meantime, Nelson said, the contractor for the course's renovation, Frontier Golf, agreed to hire all of Poppy Hills' golf course maintenance staff at the rate of pay they were making as Poppy Hills employees. But a number of maintenance members declined the offer to work for Frontier Golf.

"Some members of the maintenance staff didn't want to do that. But 100 percent were offered that," Nelson said.

Nelson said pro shop workers migrated to the Frontier Golf team or are on payroll working on things associated with the renovation.

For Porter's Grill employees, Poppy Hills officials held two job fairs to help them in their employment search, Nelson said. Officials helped with resumes and provided letters of recommendation for each employee.

"For a lot of the part-time employees, working at Poppy Hills was a second job," Nelson said.

Nelson said that "nearly everyone" will be offered back their jobs when renovations of the clubhouse and golf course are complete. Those not offered their former positions most likely would be the handful who opted not to work for Frontier Golf.

"We want the employees to come back," Nelson said. "We certainly value the loyalty of the staff and look forward to welcoming them back."

The primary reason for renovation is to conserve water, according to the NCGA. Poppy Hills has had a stellar environmental track record through its 100 percent utilization of recycled water for irrigation, but the overhaul further addresses water consumption by reducing irrigated areas of turf by 14.5 acres. The abandoned 14.5 acres will be allowed to return to its natural, native state.

The golf course renovation, to be done by original course architect Robert Trent Jones II, includes the sand capping of fairways to improve drainage, construction of new greens and bunkers and recontouring of fairways to alleviate sever elevation changes.

The NCGA and Poppy Holding Inc. have cash reserves that are being used to subsidize the renovations and Poppy Holding has secured a loan.

From 1991 until 2009, Poppy Hills was one of the three courses used in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.